Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437)

ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437): Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes was 98.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
98.7%
Change on year
up 0.1%
Rank
30th
of 203 groups
All-time high
98.7%
in 2024
All-time low
63.4%
in 1976
Years of data
49
1976–2024

Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437), 1976–2024

020406080100197620002024

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437) recorded 98.7% for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in 2024. That is the highest value across all 49 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437) peaked at 98.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 63.4%, in 1976.

ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437) ranks 30th of 203 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.

Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437), year by year

Annual values for Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes (%) in ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437), 1976 to 2024.
Year % Change
1976 63.4%
1977 63.4% +0.0%
1978 64.4% +1.5%
1979 65.3% +1.4%
1980 66.2% +1.5%
1981 67.2% +1.5%
1982 68.2% +1.5%
1983 69.3% +1.6%
1984 70.6% +1.9%
1985 71.6% +1.4%
1986 72.5% +1.4%
1987 73.2% +1.0%
1988 78.1% +6.7%
1989 79.2% +1.4%
1990 80.2% +1.3%
1991 81.2% +1.2%
1992 82.1% +1.1%
1993 83.0% +1.0%
1994 83.9% +1.1%
1995 84.7% +1.0%
1996 85.6% +1.0%
1997 91.0% +6.4%
1998 91.6% +0.7%
1999 92.2% +0.6%
2000 92.9% +0.7%
2001 93.4% +0.6%
2002 93.9% +0.5%
2003 94.4% +0.5%
2004 94.8% +0.5%
2005 95.3% +0.5%
2006 95.5% +0.2%
2007 96.0% +0.5%
2008 96.4% +0.4%
2009 96.7% +0.3%
2010 96.8% +0.1%
2011 97.0% +0.2%
2012 97.2% +0.2%
2013 97.3% +0.1%
2014 97.7% +0.3%
2015 97.8% +0.2%
2016 98.0% +0.2%
2017 97.9% -0.0%
2018 98.0% +0.1%
2019 98.2% +0.2%
2020 98.3% +0.1%
2021 98.4% +0.1%
2022 98.5% +0.1%
2023 98.6% +0.1%
2024 98.7% +0.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 64.1% 63.4% 65.3% 4
1980s 71.6% 66.2% 79.2% 10
1990s 85.6% 80.2% 92.2% 10
2000s 94.9% 92.9% 96.7% 10
2010s 97.6% 96.8% 98.2% 10
2020s 98.5% 98.3% 98.7% 5

Countries ranked near ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437)

  1. 27 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 97.8% compare
  2. 28 Saudi Arabia 97.7% compare
  3. 29 Panama 97.0% compare
  4. 30 Indonesia 97.0% compare
  5. 31 Malaysia 96.7% compare
  6. 32 Kuwait 96.7% compare
  7. 33 Mexico 96.6% compare

See the full ranking of 290 places →

More education data for ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437)

All data for ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437) →

Frequently asked questions

What is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437)?
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437) was 98.7% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes recorded in ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437)?
The highest recorded value was 98.7% in 2024.
What is the lowest literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes recorded in ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437)?
The lowest recorded value was 63.4% in 1976.
How does ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437) rank for literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes?
ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437) ranks 30th out of 203 groups with data for 2024.
Is literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes rising or falling in ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437)?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437) data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes in ESCAP: Wb Upper Middle Income Economies (wb_upper_mid) (unsdcode:98437). Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 12 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/literacy-rate-population-25-64-years-both-sexes-percent-2/escap-wb-upper-middle-income-economies-wb-upper-mid-unsdcode-98437/

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About this data

Indicator
Literacy rate, population 25-64 years, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
290 places, 9,602 data points, 1970–2024
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release